Acid Reflux

GERD is caused by you having a hiatal hernia which allows the stomach contents and acid to flow back up your esophagus.

There is an operation that attempts to overcome the weakness of the hernia but it doesn’t always work. The alternative is daily medicine.

If you have insurance, you could get a prescription for Omeprazole. I have to take two 20 mg capsules twice a day. It also helps to avoid drinking liquids before going to bed.

Omeprazole is one of several prescription medicines that are proton pump inhibitors. That means that they reduce the amount of acid your stomach produces.

If you don’t have insurance, there is an over-the-counter proton pump inhibitor called Prilosec OTC. It is a little pricey, so it might be worthwhile to find out its cost vs a prescription for Omeprazole.

You can temporarily get by by using anti acids but they only treat the symptoms, not the cause. Accordingly you still have wear and tear on your esophageal lining because of the reflux of stomach acid.

If you don’t get it under control, you not only risk losing your teeth due to acid rot from the stomach acid getting into your mouth when you sleep, but you also risk developing Barrett’s disease in your esophagus which can lead to esophageal cancer.

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